Latest Ethiopian News - International

December 13, 2017 - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director, Ms. Christine Lagarde, has started her visit to Ethiopia. During her stay in Ethiopia, the Managing Director will meet with different high-level Ethiopian government officials, including President Mulatu Teshome and Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn.

She is scheduled to deliver speeches at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and African Union (AU) as well as visit the Eastern Industry Zone in Dukem and Hamlin Fistula Hospitals.

According to a statement the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent to FBC today, Ethiopia joined IMF, an organi

December 12, 2017 - South Sudan's President Salva Kiir has declared a state of emergency in three states and ordered an immediate disarmament exercise for up to three months. The South Sudanese president also authorized his soldiers to use force if armed civilians did not lay down their weapons peacefully.

And he has political backing. Dhoruai Mabor Teny, an MP for a county in Western Lakes, had earlier encouraged the president to suspend the constitution and deploy the military.

At least 170 people have been killed in tribal clashes in one of the northern states - Western Lakes - in recent weeks.

December 12, 2017 - Six Israeli police officers are being investigated after a video surfaced in which one of them is seen beating a 16-year-old of Ethiopian origin who was handcuffed to a bench. The officers are also suspected of distributing the video clip among their police co-workers. The incident occurred in April, when the teen was arrested on suspicion of assault. He was released from prison a few weeks ago after serving a sentence for the offense.

The Justice Ministry’s police conduct investigation unit is looking into the incident. The minor, who was drunk at the time, was handcuffed to a bench at the police station during

December 11, 2017 - The Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) Tarek Amer dismissed reports that Egyptian banks and other banks operating in the local market are financing the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

During the past two days, a photo of a document went viral on social media showing a list of banks, which allegedly has financed the construction of the GERD through the purchasing of bonds from the Ethiopian government with a 36% interest rate.

In statements to Al-Masry Al-Youm, Amer said that the reports are “delirious, ridiculous, and completely disgraceful.”

December 8, 2017 - 10,000 undocumented Ethiopian citizens residing in Saudi Arabia were repatriated from November 15 - December 5, 2017, according to announcement from the Ethiopian government. The Ethiopian government also stated that it is undertaking rehabilitation work for its citizens who returned from the Kingdom.

Saudi Arabia back in March had given a 90-day amnesty of undocumented migrants to voluntarily leave, but had extended the amnesty several times since then. More than 70,000 undocumented Ethiopian migrants took advantage of the Saudi amnesty which ended in June to return home.

December 8, 2017 - The Government of Djibouti has announced a 45 percent price discount in all port services in the newly built Doraleh Multipurpose Port, reports Ethiopian News agency. The reduction of price will be applicable in all cargo, dry bulk and vehicles, CEO the port, Wahib Dahir Aden said.

The adjustment in the price of port services came as per the decision of the government of Djibouti.

The systems of operations and services that Djibouti has introduced at the Doraleh Multipurpose Port have transformed the industry.

Djibouti has been providing services at five specialized ports including the old

December 8, 2017 - Ethiopia’s ministry of foreign affairs spokesperson, Meles Alem, stated that Ethiopia has no intention to relocate its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, reports Middle East monitor.

Speaking at a press conference, the ministry’s spokesperson, Meles Alem, stressed that US President Donald Trump’s decision to move the American embassy to Jerusalem applies to “the United States alone”.

“We, as part of the African Union, endorse the two-state solution,” Alem added.

On Wednesday, the US President Donald Trump announced his decision to formally recognize Jerusal

December 7, 2017 - Egypt has “many alternatives” to deal with the stalled technical negotiations on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) with Ethiopia and Sudan, Egypt’s Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Mohamed Abdel Ati quoted by arabs news as saying. The minister said that Egypt had tried to make the construction of the dam a point of cooperation, not a source of disagreement. In the light of these attempts, Egypt had signed the Declaration of Principles, but the other side had not reached a solution.

“Egypt’s water security is an integral part of its national security,” Secretary

December 6, 2017 - Ethiopia has been using the services of Israeli software security company called Elbit Systems to eavesdrop on EThiopian opposition figures living in the United States, Canada, Germany and other places, according to reports from Citizen Lab, US News & World Report, Wired.com, and several other media organizations.

According to the reports, in 2016 and 2017, individuals in Canada, United States, Germany, Norway, United Kingdom, and other countries began to receive suspicious emails. The emails contained links, which when clicked, were meant to download monitoring software onto target computers. One such email wa

December 6, 2017 - CEO of Ethiopia Electric Power, Azeb Asnake, has been named the 2017 Power Generation Woman of the Year in recognition of her great work advancing power generation in Ethiopia, reports Renewable Energy World . The Ethiopian CEO received the award yesterday at POWER-GEN International event in Las Vegas, United States of America.

Azeb is responsible for the construction and operation of generation plants, transmission lines and substations as well as overseeing the sale of electricity to neighboring Sudan, Djibouti and border towns of Kenya.

December 5, 2017 - Saudi Airlines has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Technical Unit of Ethiopian Airlines to provide long-term aircraft maintenance services exchanged between them case by case and project by project, reports Saudi Gazette.

The agreement expands the support and maintenance solutions in the field of component service which forms the basis to pursue a longer term business partnership between both companies in support of their customers’ fleet operations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and surrounding market in Africa.

Under the terms of the MOU, the companies cooperate in component maintenanc

According to the report, the two top diplomats met on the sidelines of the Euro-Mediterranean Dialogue held in Rome. Shoukry and Al-Jubeir discussed the latest developments in the region.

Shoukry also discussed Egyptian efforts in achieving Palestinian reconciliation and how to enable the national accord government to do its job in the Gaza Strip, as well as reviving the Palestinian-Israeli peace process.

December 3, 2017 - Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn held talks with Saudi King Special Envoy, Major General Ahmad Hassan Mohammad Asiri. During the meeting, the Ethiopian Premier and Envoy discussed ways to strengthen socio-economic and security cooperation between the two countries.

Attracting more investment from Saudi Arabia to Ethiopia was also one of the main topics of the discussion. As regards to regional issues, the two sides discussed ways to reinforce their peace and security cooperation, according to office of the Prime Minister.

December 2, 2017 - The Ethiopian government canceled the planned Ethio-Djibouti fuel pipeline project, reports the Ethiopian weekly English newspaper, the Reporter. In 2014 the South Africa-based infrastructure investment group, Black Rhino, proposed to the Ethiopian government to build a 550km long pipeline to transport diesel, gasoline and jet fuel from the Port of Djibouti to central Ethiopia.

A senior Ethiopian government official stated that the government has canceled the project due to financial reasons. The official said though the pipeline project is viable, the government wants to protect the Ethiopian Railway Corporation

December 1, 2017 - Ethiopia's Ambassador to Egypt Ambassador Taye Aske-Selassie stated that improved business relations can play a great role in strengthening the overall relationship between Egypt and Ethiopia, reports Ethiopian news agency.

The Ethiopian ambassador held a roundtable discussion with Egyptian business people in Cairo, Egypt, yesterday. The discussion was attended by over 20 Egyptian businessmen who are investing in Ethiopia and potential investors.

Ambassador Taye thanked Egyptian Investors for their contribution to the economic development of Ethiopia and briefed potential investors ab

November 30, 2017 - Egypt is to create an African lobby group in a bid to defend its position with regards Ethiopia’s Renaissance Dam, reports the middile east mointer.The lobby group will work with an alliance of African countries and will be tasked with monitoring the crisis caused by the Ethiopian water projects.

“The construction work will not stop at the dam for one minute, and this is our country’s consistent position, as it is a basic right for Ethiopia to make use of its water resources to produce energy for development and poverty eradication,” Ethiopia’s Minister of Irrigation said. Egypt

November 29, 2017 - In South Sudan’s central Jonglei state a tribal militia killed at least 43 people, part of a cycle of tit-for-tat revenge killings that local authorities have so far been powerless to stop. Raiders from the Murle ethnic group killed 20 men, 22 women and one child, and injured 19 people in the small village of Duk Payel on Tuesday, Jonglei Information Minister Jocab Akech Deng said.

The killings are the latest chapter in a chain of revenge attacks, cattle raiding, and child abduction between the Murle ethnic group and another group, the Dinka Bor.

November 29, 2017 - Ethiopia Foreign Minister, Dr Workneh Gebeyehu, held talks with his Libyan counterpart on the sideline of 5th AU-EU Summit in Abidjan Côte d'Ivoire. The two Foreign Ministers discussed migrants’ situations in Libya, where tens of thousands of migrants from Africa and the Middle East transited through on their way to Europe.

The international community expressed outrage after footage emerged appearing to show sub-Saharan migrants being sold at slave markets in Libya.

On the video released by CNN recently week, young men are seen being auctioned off as farm workers.